VETERAN STEALS A KISS WITH MRS MAY

More than 300 veterans packed into Bayeux War Cemetery yesterday — joined by Prince Charles and Prime Minister Theresa May.

Ex-Marine Robert Yaxley, 94, from Chelmsford, even pinched a kiss with the PM, on her last day in office.

Robert was an 18-year-old commando in a landing craft that reached Sword Beach.

He told the PM: “We landed ashore and then moved through the land. I went all the way through to Germany and I didn’t get a scratch. The lord was watching over me.”

Of his peck he said: “I took her by the arms and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Why not?

“Not everyone can do that. She said, ‘Ooh thank you’.”

MY TEARS AT SERVICE

THIS is the fifth time I’ve photographed D-Day services at Bayeux — but the first it moved me to tears.

As men in their 90s saluted friends and comrades who died on the beaches of Normandy, I could not stop crying.

Many veterans had to be helped by carers to lay their wreaths, while others in wheelchairs struggled.

But they all did so with amazing dignity — determined to say farewell to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

By Arthur Edwards, Sun Photographer

Navy Signalman Frank Baugh, 95, told how he saw infantryman cut down by gunfire or drown as he stormed Sword Beach at 7.25am.

His task was to land 200 men from the 2nd Battalion Kings Shropshire Light Infantry — from a landing craft that “bobbed around like a cork in a bucket”.

Frank choked back tears and recalled: “As we approached the beach we received a direct hit which set fire to the No2 troop space and holed us below the waterline on the starboard side.

“Under heavy fire they landed in about four feet of rough water.

“Many were cut down by machine-gun fire, falling in the water face down.” Three of the dead — Pte Ernest Blewett, 26, from Tooting, South London, Pte Harry Hall, 28, of Gateshead and Lt John Whitebrook, from Lincoln’s Inn, London — are among the more than 4,100 men buried at Bayeux.

'I CAN'T GO ON FOREVER'

To appreciative applause Frank, of Doncaster, South Yorks, added: “My abiding memory of D-Day is of thunderous noise and the sight of young men rolling in the surf, lads we’d been speaking with minutes before. I cannot forget.” After the service Frank revealed: “I didn’t come back for 65 years.

“I had enough of it all and I found it too upsetting but then my family encouraged me to come back. It’s important to pass on the experience. I can’t go on forever.”

Frank also met the Duchess of Cornwall, who admitted she had cried as the men laid wreaths.

Ship MV Boudicca landed at Le Havre yesterday carrying 255 veterans for the service. On board were able seamen Ernest Green, 93, and Robert Barnett, 93 — reunited for the first time since the war.

They spent three years on HMS Redpole, returning home in 1946 then living 19 miles apart in Dorset.

They remembered how they waited at anchor for 12 hours on June 6 before proceeding to Juno Beach at 4pm.

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They manned guns on the Redpole — watching as Canadian troops died in front of them. Ernest said: “We couldn’t do anything. We had picked them up the day before, in the afternoon, on the Isle of Wight.

“I’m sorry, I get emotional when I think of it.”

Also at Bayeux was wheelchair-user Bill Parker, 94 — despite French cops stopping him travel to the cemetery by car.

His family had to wheel him along a busy road until he was rescued by a Royal British Legion bus. Bill, a leading seaman on Juno Beach, was the first to shake Charles’s hand after the service.

The Prince had spotted that Bill was wearing the medals his father Harold won in World War One while serving with the Royal Garrison Artillery.

Bill, from Cheltenham, Glous, said: “A day that started as a disaster turned into one I’ll never forget thanks to the British Legion.”

D-Day footage shows extraordinary bravery of Allied soldiers who took part in WWII Normandy landings

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Harry gave an emotional interview with the BBC this morningCredit: BBC

Ex-Marine Robert Yaxley, 94, from Chelmsford, even pinched a kiss with the PM, on her last day in officeCredit: AFP

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Navy Signalman Frank Baugh, 95, with the Duchess of Cornwall, told how he saw infantryman cut down by gunfire or drown as he stormed Sword Beach at 7.25amCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

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Many people praised the emotional interview for recognising HarryCredit: twitter

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One viewer said they had become a 'blubbering mess' after listening to Harry speakCredit: twitter

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Viewers said they were left in tears after the interviewCredit: twitter

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Many praised Harry for being a heroCredit: twitter

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